1896 Boston (Bostons)

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. An educated guess is made on uniform color based on documentation from a related year. Additional minor details may be missing or difficult to determine.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A
Dated April 5-8, 1896. Year confirmed by appearance of player Mains, who only played for Boston this one year. Date range of April 5-8, 1896 determined by the photographer’s credit line, which implied this photo was made in Norfolk, Virginia. The Boston Globe reported on April 6, 1896 that the Boston team arrived in Norfolk on Easter Sunday, April 5th, and “walked from the boat landing to the hotel where they will put up for the next three days.” The team was scheduled to play exhibition games in Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA, in the days that followed. An early 1896 date can be further confirmed by the appearance of player Ryan, who was released by the team on May 19, 1896. 16 of the 18 players in this photo wore a white sweater that featured lace ties and a shawl collar. The uniform shirt can only be seen on the two players seated in the middle (Duffy and Collins). The cap was white with a small old-English B above the brim. The stockings were red, the traditional color for the team.

Top row, from left: F Tenney (94-07), B Yerrick (Bos NL 95, 96, WB EL 96), C Ganzel (89-97), W Mains (Bos NL 96, Bangor NEL 96), J Stivetts (92-98), T Tucker (90-97), J Ryan (Bos NL 94-96, Syr EL 96) and J Harrington (95, 96). Middle: B Lowe (90-01), B Hamilton (96-01), H Duffy (AA 91, NL 92-00), (F Selee, mgr 90-01), J Collins (NL 95-00, AL 01-07) and M Bergen (96-99). Front: H Long (90-02), J Sullivan (95-98), C Dolan (Bos NL 95, 96, 05, 06, Prv EL 96), K Nichols (90-01) and J Bannon (94-96). Player IDs and image from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1897, released before the start of the 1897 season. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Boston Globe research from Ed Morton. Ryan release info from retrosheet.org. Original photo by William Freeman, Norfolk.

Dated April 5-8, 1896. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed a uniform with lace ties and the city name in large vertically-extended letter forms arched across the chest.

Photo B

Dated 1896 to 1901. Studio image of B Hamilton (96-01), full view at left, detail view at right. Detail view showed a cap and shirt that was very similar to those show in the 1896 team picture, see photo A. Note the old-English letter B on the cap and the low position of the city name on the shirt. Player ID and image scan from Nigel Ayres. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.

Photo C

Issued 1896 to 1898. Cameo Pepsin Gum pin of T Tucker (90-97), full view at left, detail view at right. This portrait of Tucker was taken from the 1896 team photo, see photo A. Full view at left showed the fabric of the team sweater worn in that photo. Detail view at right showed the old-English “B” on the cap above the brim. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Issue date of pin from Sports Collectors Digest, post by Keith Olbermann, retrieved online July 6, 2019.

Photos D, E, F, G, H & I

Issued 1896 to 1898. Cameo Pepsin Gum pins of Boston players photographed in 1896. Top row: K Nichols (90-01), H Duffy (AA 91, NL 92-00) and H Long (90-02). Bottom row: B Hamilton (96-01), J Sullivan (95-98) and C Ganzel (89-97). These portraits were taken from the 1896 team photo, see photo A. Note that the old-English letter “B” above the brim of the cap matched the other examples from 1896 shown on this page. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Issue date of pins from Sports Collectors Digest, post by Keith Olbermann, retrieved online July 6, 2019.

Photos J & K

Dated 1896. Portraits of C Dolan (Bos NL 95, 96, 05, 06, Prv EL 96), left, and J Ryan (Bos NL 94-96, Syr EL 96), right. Both of these portraits were taken from the 1896 team picture, see photo A. These portraits may have been enhanced or retouched and were most likely used for the Cameo Pepsin Gum pin series issued between 1896 and 1898. Both portraits showed an old-English letter “B” on the cap above the brim. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.

Photo L

Dated April 19, 1896. This illustration of cut-out baseball players was published in a newspaper on this date. Full view at left, detail view at right. One team was depicted wearing a white uniform with a white cap and red stockings. It is possible this was meant to mimic the Boston home uniform. The blue/gray uniform with blue stockings may have been a reference to the Boston road uniform. Image from the Boston Sunday Globe, April 19, 1896.

Written documentation on this uniform:
April 1896: “The nicknames of the National league clubs are as follows: Boston, Beaneaters; Cleveland, Spiders; Pittsburg[h], Pirates; Philadelphia, Quakers; Baltimore, Orioles or Oysters; Brooklyn, Bridegrooms; Cincinnati, Reds; Louisville, Colonels; St. Louis, Browns; New York, Giants; Washington, Senators; Chicago, Colts.” From the Windsor (ON) Evening Record, April 14, 1896.

September 17, 1896, Boston v. Baltimore at Baltimore: “The story of the game is [Boston pitcher] Sullivan. There was magnificent fielding on both sides, but the trump card stood in the [pitcher’s] box in a gray uniform.” From the Boston Globe, September 18, 1896. Research from Ed Morton. This report implied the Boston road uniform was gray in color.

Team genealogy: Boston 1871-1952
Boston was formed to enter the National Association (NA) in 1871. The NA was baseball’s first league, operating 1871-1875. Boston played in the NA in every year of the league’s existence and moved to the National League (NL) upon its start in 1876. Boston played in the NL from 1876 to 1952 and moved to Milwaukee for the 1953 NL season. Information from Paul Batesel, Players And Teams of the National Association, 1871-1875, from baseball-reference.com and from wikipedia.com.